The Potential and Perils of the IoT in Healthcare
The internet of things (IoT) is ever-expanding, and while this growth is bringing new capabilities and opportunities for business innovation, it also presents new challenges and security risks. And there is no greater risk than that of life or death, which is a core concern around the IoT in healthcare.
Devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and digital assistants have already penetrated the industry, and the IoT is at the heart of the digital healthcare ecosystem. This ecosystem includes patients and medical staff, medical devices (e.g., diagnostic and imaging), surgical robots, wearables, intelligent equipment and countless wireless sensors — all of which can share sensitive data.
Despite palpable cybersecurity concerns, it appears the IoT momentum train is picking up speed. According to Gartner, the IoT in healthcare is forecast to grow by 29 percent in 2020, trailing building automation and automotive as one of the fastest growing industries.
As IoT use cases proliferate, their impact on the healthcare industry can only deepen — and that has implications both auspicious and ominous.
Alan Mihalic, president and founder of the IoT Security Institute, has noted that the IoT in healthcare is rolling out incredibly quickly and echoed Gartner’s prediction that billions of devices will be connected by 2020. Mihalic believes the primary motivators behind this rapid growth are lowering costs and improving patient care through big data.
“Big data is the opportunity that allows the industry to address both,” he said, noting that the information it can provide goes beyond industry data and includes that of external parties and external vendor providers as well. “With all this data, they can look at how to improve their service and lower the cost to deliver that service. But moreover, it’s a question of moving from a reactive to a proactive healthcare model, which is one of the key benefits of the IoT.”
On the patient side, the internet of things can offer tremendous benefits. When healthcare providers have more data about the status of patient health, proactive care becomes possible. Imagine your doctor informing you about a health hazard you will likely face before it happens based on data of this kind.
“If you’re walking around with a device that lets a health provider be made aware that you’re about to have a dangerous heart incident because it’s fluctuating, that can be incredibly powerful,” said Mihalic.
Even the smart refrigerator you have in your home could send relevant data back to a healthcare provider about your diet. Privacy concerns aside, the potential for better care is massive. On the other hand, the potential risk for lost, stolen or misused data is also enormous.
At the onset, transitioning toward digital healthcare can affect the bottom line significantly. New hardware, new procedures, training costs, infrastructure costs — it can all add up quickly. The validation of the cost, according to Mihalic, is to maintain trust in line with community expectations.
“If I’m prepared to give you all my medical records, I expect you to be able to protect them in a manner which you consider reasonable or the average person would consider reasonable,” he said.
Since most of the data will be cloud-based, many different data protection scenarios also come into play. With all that data, the discussion around privacy, cybersecurity and protection of data is paramount. It’s a complicated issue to tackle, but fortunately the IoT Security Institute has developed an extensive framework that providers can follow.
Instead of discussing the meticulous details of the framework, I thought it best to walk through the most critical elements of healthcare IoT with Mihalic and present some general tips the industry can follow.
As organizations look to source IoT devices to incorporate into their healthcare systems, Mihalic recommends a heavy dose of due diligence and a hint of skepticism.
